Dungeon of Control
by Raik the Raichu
Summary: A Raichu wakes up to find himself locked in a dark cell, and branded with numbers which make no sense.  His only help comes from a Pichu claiming to be a Pikachu, and a Squirtle with mood swings.  First Person POV. My first official fic. Story Completed!
1. Prologue: Awoke in the Dark

Author's Note:  
Yeah, this is my first fic, and Im gonna need you to bear with me on the first few chapters...they suck...badly...

Anyway, I hope you enjoy it!

-Raik the Raichu

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Prologue: Awoke in the Dark

_...where am I?..._

I slowly started to wake up. The ground I was laying on was cold and hard, and felt like stone. I opened my eyes and was staring a gray concrete ground in the face. It looked worn and it had rust stains in certain spots on the ground. I stood up and checked where I was.

_Well...this is a change of scenery..._ I was in a...prison cell? _Why am I in a cell?_ The cell had 3 walls made of old, cracked, rusty large gray bricks, and then where a 4th wall should have been, there was an opening, covered by iron bars. There was no way I could squeeze through them.

I looked around the cell. The only things in the cell were what looked to be a small window with more iron bars that produced no light at all, a mirror, and and a chain on the wall. I followed the chain and it ended...at my neck! I was chained to the cell! _What the hell!? I'm chained!_ I tried to yank on them, but these looked brand new, and weren't rusty like everything else in the cell.

At this point, the only thing left to do was check the mirror, and see how I looked. The mirror was grimy and looked pretty old, but I could still see my reflection. I looked like a mess. I wasn't injured, but I was dirty, and covered in dirt and dust. I didnt look too bad. The messy fur was normal. I never had clean fur. To me, appearences meant nothing.

The only real things different about my body were a small headache (which I just tried to ignore), and an imprint on tail. That was what confused me the most about his whole thing. There were numbers and letters on my tail which looked like they were burned with hot metal, like when you brand a cow. What it said just confused me more. It simply said: MCTS14. _What does this mean?_ I thought, confused. The headache started to get worse, but I ignored it. _Probably from sleeping on that hard concrete for who knows how long._

I tried to remember what had happened, and how I got here. Then slowly started to remember. _I was wandering throught the forest when I got lost. Then I felt something prick me in the back of my neck. I reached back and felt it. It was small, hard, and felt like glass. I pulled it out and brought it up to my face to get a better look. I was shocked when I discovered it was a dart. After that, I blacked out._

Then I remembered stuff from when I had woken up during the black out. I hadn't been awake for long, but I had woken up a few times, long enough to remember things that were happening. _All I can remember is something with needles, knives, and something about "operate" and "chips." Great! I had woken up just in time for snack time and a game of Operation!_ Thinking about chips made me hungry. There wasn't any food in the cell, so I just sat there, my hunger growing to the point of pain.

I looked out the barred gate that prevented me from getting out. I got a good look at where I was. It was probably the most uninviting place I had ever had to be in. It was dark and very musky and smelled funny. All the walls and floors were made of the same worn stone that was in my cell. In the distance, I saw other cells. Some of them were empty, but a few had Pokemon in them. They looked very tired, and in pain, as though someone had beaten them. That thought, along with the enviroment of the room, made me very worried about what was going to happen to me. I looked over to one wall and saw a rack of...weapons, such as large guns, and cow prods. That sight made me fall to the floor in shock. I sort of huddled into a corner and stood there.

_Now I know that something bad is gonna happen to me!_ I thought, very scared. What else would torture weapons be used for besides torturing? Definitly not cleaning. Also, it matched together: beaten Pokemon in cells, rack of weapons, and dark musky room in the middle of nowhere. I was in some sort of torture chamber! I slid down to the ground, still stunned. Beads of sweat were now rolling down my body. It was a cold sweat. The sweat you experience when your scared. _Great! I'm in a torture chamber! Why did I have to get brought here!? Just my luck..._

After my horrific discovery, I layed on the hard floor, and tried to sleep for a bit, the headache now receding.

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Kay...thats it...more chapters to go! 


	2. Chapter 1: The Dungeon

Author's Note:  
Heres Chapter 1. I have to hurry cuz its late --'''

-Raik the Raichu

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Chapter 1: The Dungeon

I woke up huddled in a ball, shivering. The cell was cold, as if it were made of solid ice. No warmth at all. Heck, there wasn't even an old rag to help keep me warm. Whats worse was that the chain was making me even colder. It froze my neck to the point where it hurt. It felt like being jabbed in the neck with a small cold knife.

_D-damn its c-cold..._ I thought, still shivering. I had never had a night this cold before. This told me I was near the mountains. The mountains were the only place where it could get this cold. I looked out the small barred window to see how late it was. Just like before, there was no sign of the sky or the outside world. I was beginning to think that it wasn't a window, but that was the lest of my worries. My biggest priority was to figure out where I was.

Just then, I heard a metal door open in the distance. It creaked loudly through the silent room. I heard footsteps on the hard floor, heading in my direction. Then I saw them. There were two men, both young looking. The first one had long black hair and wore dark clothing, almost as if he were trying not to be seen in this dark room. He stood in front of the other guy, and what worried me was what he was carrying. In his hands, he carried a large gun. The gun was mostly wood and had metal parts around the top. _That gun looks pretty strong..._ I thought, staring at the large weapon, eyes enlarged with amazement.

The second guy had dark blonde hair and wore the same clothes as the first guy, as if they were in a cult or something. He was behind the guy, with something in his hands. Upon a closer look, I discovered it was a chain, just like the one I had, and on the other end, was a Pokemon. I saw that it was a very badly beaten Sandshrew. He wasn't moving. He looked as though he was out cold. They dragged him to a cell about 20 feet from mine. They opened the door, threw him into the cell, and shut the door.

When I say they threw him, I mean they THREW him into the cell, hard! He hit the wall, and fell to the ground with a loud thud, and they shut the gate. They started over toward door they had come through, until the blonde haired guy took a quick glance in my direction, and stopped. He signaled the other guy to follow him. They walked over to my cell, went up to the door, and peered at me through the bars.

"Hey, look who's up!" said the blonde guy, staring down at me with an evil grin. He then silently laughed, as if he found this amusing. _What's so funny..._ He looked over at his partner and asked, "Which one is this?"

I was still in the corner at the far end of the cell so he couldn't reach me. He found a way though. Just then, the black haired guy put his arm through the bars and reached for the part of the chain that was attatched to the wall. He grabbed it and pulled it as hard as he could. I almost went flying over to the bars. Instead, I flew up and landed hard on the ground. Then I was yanked over to the bars, where I hit my head on the cold steel bars. He then reached over and grabbed my tail and checked the weird inscription that was burned onto my tail. He stared at it and muttered to his partner, "He's in the MC division down the hall, and subject #14. Our newest addition to that section, and hopefully, for his sake, his tests wont fail." Hearing that made me scared as to what would happen if these "tests" did in fact fail.

Then, for an unknown reason, I attempted to shock them. I must have gotten annoyed when they abused me like that and my instincts told me to defend myself beacuseat that moment, I jumped up and tried to shock them...but nothing happend. I tried again, but with the same results. My cheeks sparked, but nothing else happend. They both laughed. Then, the black haired guy said, "Well, it seems he has discovered what our new injections do," he smiled with an evil look. He dropped the look, got serious and said, "Foolish Pokemon!" He then took the gun he had been holding and hit me directly in the face with the back of it.

When the gun collided with my face, I felt as though something had broke, and I heard a strange cracking sound. I landed hard on my back and hit my head hard on the stone ground. I was stunned. _He actually hit me..._ I thought, laying on my back. He then said, "You will learn respect, one way, or another...or else!" He then pulled out the metal part at the top of the gun, and then pushed it back in. I noticed that something flew out of it. With that, he turned, and he and his partner left the room.

When they left, I got up, still in a tremendous amount of pain, and I went to see what had flew out of the gun. I picked it up and looked at it. It was long, small, made of metal, and was a bronze color. It was a bullet. But, there was something wrong with it. It was empty. It had been _used_! I dropped it in fright. I didn't want to know what the bullet had been used for, but I already had a greusome idea.

I then limped over to the dirty mirror. I wanted to check the damage done to my face. When I looked, there was a large red mark in the shape of the back of the gun, and blood. I was sure that he broke my nose. I simply wiped it off and went back to the corner. It hurt badly. I tried to ignore it like I did the headache I had earlier, but it was worse than the that. As I sat there, I realized that since this was a torture chamber, this was only the beginning.

"I see that you met the Dungeon Keepers," said a voice nearby. I looked for the source of the voice, but I saw no one. I then heard him say, "I'm over here. In the cell next to yours." I walked over to the left side of my cell where there was small hole in the large stone wall. I looked through and saw who was talking to me. It was a Pichu. He looked more beaten than me. His fur was messy and looked very unwashed. But, even with all the injuries, he looked so familiar.

After, a few seconds, it hit me. _He resembles how I looked at his age..._ I had never seen anyone that looked like me when I was young, cause most of them were more neat and well kept. He looked through at me and said, "So, when did you get in?"

Just like before, I had no idea what the time was or how much had passed. I looked at him and said, "I'm pretty sure it was a day ago. What about you?" He looked like he had to think about it for a while, as if he had been here forever. After a few seconds of dead silence, he finally said, "Not sure. It could be anywhere from 2-3 weeks to almost a month." The second I found out he had been here a long time, I wanted to ask every question about this place that I could, but I just thought to myself, _Don't bombard him with questions..._

I decided to ask a few questions first, then see what happened from there. I started out simple and asked, "What's your name?" He simply said, "Just call me Sparks. It's basic. So, what's yours?" I said, "Raik."

Before I could ask him anything else, he began asking me questions. "What's your number?" he asked, sounding very curious. I simply looked at him and said, "It just says 'MCTS14'. Why? What does it mean?" He looked over. "Well, I can't be sure of that. If yours said 'DSTS' instead of 'MCTS' I could tell you what your headed for. My number is 'DSTS03'." I was confused. All of this was hard to understand. "What does yours mean?" I asked. He knew I was confused, even before I asked him the question. I could tell he was getting ready to explain either something long or complicated because he took a long deep breath and let it out before continuing.

"In this place, you are branded with a number. The number stands for a different experiment. Take yours for example. 'MCTS' is just an acronym for one of their experiments. They use the acronym for 2 reasons: For a smaller branding, and so that we don't find out what they're doing to us. I'm not sure what 'MC' means, but 'TS' stands for 'Test Subject'. I know, it's on every branding." I nodded in response. I was wondering why he didn't use his as an example.

Then, I started to wonder, _what does his mean?_ I wanted to find out now, so I asked him, "What does yours mean?" He didn't respond. I looked through the hole and saw him in a slump, staring at his feet. He had this almost depressed look on his face, and I felt as though I had asked the wrong question. I wasn't expecting him to tell me.

"Nevermi-" he cut me off and said, "No, I'll tell you." He was still in the same position as before. He took another deep breath, just as before, and started to explain. "Just to let you know, when I tell you, you probably wont believe me." I gave him a funny look. _After everything I've seen in the past 10 hours, your story probably wont surprise me a bit._ I thought, same expression on my face. I simply responded, "Try me."

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Kay, onto the next chapter!


	3. Chapter 2: The Blackout Test

Author's Note:  
Alright, I really hope someone reads this, cause its taking forever to add!

-Raik the Raichu

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Chapter 2: Blackout Tests

The conversation had really slowed down after that question. After another deep breath, he continued with his explanation. "Their tests are insane...yet they're very advenced," he started in a low voice. He was talking as though he didn't want anyone to hear, which confused me.

_Why's he talking so low ?_ I thought. I decided to not pay any attention to it. Didn't seem like a big deal. I was confused though as to what he meant by that sentence. I found myself asking him, "What do you mean?" He was now out of sight from the hole. He had moved out of view so that he could lay against the wall behind him. "Their tests are "bizzare" tests that have either never been thought of, or were always thought of as inhumane and cruel...only, they test them," he said, now in a more quiet voice. I turned slightly and asked, "What do you mean inhumane and cruel? What kinds of tests could have been thought of, but were never put into action?"

He gave a faint low laugh and said, "Anything that could alter DNA or the evolutionary path. Splicing, altering evolution, untested viral seirums, and anything in that catigory. Scientists and the government have been against that for years!"

I almost laughed myself. He knew some big words for such a small guy. I asked, "They do those kind of experiments?" He simply said, "Yes, they do."

I didn't believe him. "How would you know?" I asked with great disbelief. There was a long pause until he finally responded, "Because, I've witnessed their experiments too, obviously."

"Well, what does your number mean?" I asked. Another long pause. He started again. "My tests," he began, "would most likely fall under evolutionary altering." Now I had gotten confused again. "What exactly were your tests?" I started to ask. He gave a short sigh and said, "'DSTS' stands for 'De-Evolutionary Stone Test Subject'." For a second, I hadn't understood what he had said, as though what he had said was completely unbelieveable. All that came out of my mouth was, "...what?"

He gave another sigh before explaining. "They have created what they're calling the De-Evolutionary Stone. The goal was to create a stone that can basically reverse evolution. Why? I have no idea. All you need to know is, I was Test Subject #3. They brought me into a room, had some guy take a colorless crystal looking stone and chuck it at my head, and I blacked out. Hurt like hell. When I woke up, I was a Pichu. So basically, I was a Pikachu, but after the test, I'm a Pichu," he concluded.

For a while, I sat there and just let my mouth sort of fall open in shock. My eyes had widened to the size of tennis balls. I was just stunned that they could actually acheive that kind of technology. From the look of where I was, I wouldn't even have believed they had running water, let alone rocks that can mess with our evolution. He could tell I was really shocked. He said, "Told you. It's unbelievable that they can make stuff like that, isn't it?"

I then said, "This place doesn't even look like it could house anything high-tech!" I heard him laugh loudly.

"You think the entire facility looks like this?" he started, still laughing slightly. _"Entire facility"...There's more?!_ I thought, still listening to him explain. "This...all this...it's for show. This room was made to look as though we had been brought to a torture chamber, so we wouldn't know what they were doing to us. It still is a torture chamber for the most part, but thats not all it is. I saw one room, full of computers and high-tech equipment. They're messing with us! They're trying to break us. Do you get it?" He was finally in view of the hole. He had looked me straight in the eyes for that entire explanation. I could tell he was being serious now. "So what does-"

Before I could finish my question, the door at the end of the room opened. Through the door came those 2 guys from before, including the one that had hit me. I stared at them with a look of hate, especially towards the black-haired guy. _He's the one that hit me..._ I thought, still staring at him. To my surprise, he came right over to my cell, and opened the door. He looked at me with the same look I gave him. I was expecting another blow to my face with the back end of the gun, but instead, he just unhooked my chain from the wall, and held it in his hand, firmly. He then said in a slightly deep grim voice, "Time for your tests." A dark smile ran across his face as he said that. The only thing that ran across me though was a cold shiver down my spine. Just the way he had said that, added with the stories that Sparks had told me made me feel quesey, like I would throw-up.

He then yanked on the chain, attempting to lead me out of the cell. A thought to run crossed my mind, but then I thought of the consequenses. _He could hit me again, or even shoot me..._ I thought, still running over my options. I didn't have much time to think because at that moment, they made the decision for me. He pulled the chain with great force and dragged me out of the cell. It wasn't very comfortable, as my had head crashed into the thick concrete floor without even the slightest warning, and then I was dragged across it. I tried to stand, but they were walking at a fast pace and everytime I attempted to get up, I would just fall flat on my face right back into the stone cold floor. I finally just gave up trying to stand and just laid there as they dragged me through the door and into a hallway.

The hallway looked the same as the room did. Rusted stone walls and floor, rusty lamps hanging from the celing with dim flickering bulbs, and the same cold temperature. _Did he lie?_ I thought, taking a good look at the new enviroment. Still dragging me, they walked down the hall, passing many doors along the way. I really wanted to know what was behind them, but I knew I would never find out. They went through another door leading into another hallway, only this one had some other humans. They were all dressed in white coats and they carried papers and many other objects that I wasn't able to identify. I saw a few other Pokemon being led into rooms as well, and the same thought crossed my mind each time I saw one: _I wonder what theyre going to be used for..._

Finally, after what seemed like forever, they stopped at a door. This gave me ample time to stand up and brush off what little dirt I could. I looked ahead of me to check for the reason we had stopped. They were at another rusted door, only this one had some kind of lock in which they had to scan some kind of card to open it. There was a wierd buzzing noise and then they opened the door, threw me inside, and shut it. Yet again, I landed on my face, right on the hard ground. I was getting sick of this. My nose started to bleed again, so I wiped it off. It wasn't as bad as when I had been hit with the gun, but it still hurt badly. My biggest concern at that moment, though, was to figure out where they had brought me.

I took a look around the room. It was pretty much like the cell, only bigger and minus the bars. The room was a rectangular shape and was lit by a long, dim, flickering lamp hanging from the ceiling. There wasn't much to the room. On the other side of the room, lay a Bulbasaur, not badly beaten like all the other Pokemon I saw, but still beaten. He sat there, staring at me with a blank expression. I looked to my right and saw what looked to be like a large mirror. It was strange looking though because it had a yellowish tint to it, and I could swear I saw movement behind it. Next to it, another door leading to who knows where.

There was another human in the room. He wore a white coat like the ones I'd seen in the hallway, but was much older looking, and much taller. He had thin glasses perched on the tip of his nose. The 2 guys left when they threw me inside so it was just me, that Bulbasaur, and this creepy scientist. The scientist finally looked away from the papers he was reading, and looked at me. He studied me for a second, peering through his glasses with a strange gaze. Finally, he reached over and grabbed my tail, then continued to study that for a while. _Why the hell is everyone yanking my tail!? I swear, just one more..._ I thought angrily, giving an evil stare towards the scientist. He didn't notice.

Finally, he let go of my tail and went over to the papers, scanned them quickly, layed them on a desk he was standing next to, and walked through the door next to the "mirror." I caught a quick glimpse of what was behind the door. For the first time, I saw a room that didn't look the rooms I had seen so far. It was cleaner and well lit, with brighter lamps lighting it. I felt warmer air blow over my body once he opened the door. I enjoyed every second of it, as I had not felt any warmth since my arrival to this place.

He came out after a few minutes, and went over to his papers, but didn't pick them up. Instead, he stood by the desk and started to watch me. I knew that the test was starting. Then, he raised his hand, like some kind of signal, and then lowered it. I was very nervous. I had no idea what was supposed to happen or what was going on. All this pressure started to give me a small headache. I was expecting something to rip out of my body or for me to suddenly go blind...but nothing happened. Moments went by, but nothing happened. I looked over at the scientist. He was watching me very anxiously, like he was expecting the greatest thing ever to appear. Then I got an idea. This was my chance to get a laugh outta this entire experience. I was gonna toy with him, mess with him, do anything to piss him off.

I started simple. I scratched my head where my headache was growing. He looked pretty mad once I did that. He then stormed back through the door, and I heard him yelling, "All he did was scratch his head! Increase the intensity now, or your all fired!" He came back out, stomping his feet loudly, and returned to his original spot.

Once again, he watched me with the same expression on his face. My headache was now getting worse, mostly because all the screaming he did echoed really loudly throughout the empty room and it hurt my ears. I looked over to where the Bulbasaur was, and I started to laugh once I saw him. He had layed down and was now sleeping. That was the most enjoyable part about being here so far. But it didn't last long. The second he saw me laughing at the napping Bulbasaur, he became enraged and stormed over to the door once more. It was a funny site, as he had started to go balistic and was threatening everyone in the room with their jobs once more. He then went back to the same spot yet again.

Now I started to realize something was wrong. My headache just kept getting worse, and I was having headaches more than I usually did before I came here. _These experiments must be tied to my headaches some how...but how?_ I thought as the headache increased. As it got worse, I started to put my hands on my head and grab in a desperate attempt to stop the pain. The scientist was now becoming overjoyed, like a kid on Christmas.

He signaled his hand in an upward motion, which I guessed it meant to increase whatever he was talking about earlier. Just as before, the headache increased, causing pain to now flow down my body. I was now on the floor, still clutching my head, my eyes closed tightly. As it got worse, I could feel myself getting more and more tired, knowing that any minute, I would lose all consciousness. Finally, the pain became too intense, and everything faded into black.

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Kay, another chapter later...


	4. Chapter 3: Insane

Author's Note:

Kay, well, when I first started writing this, my English teacher put this quote on the board, which made the entire plot for this chapter! I got so lucky! XD

-Raik the Raichu

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Chapter 3: Insane

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I awoke to a loud sound echoing through the musky room. I stood up, head thumping violently, pain pulsing down throughout my body. I was so dizzy, I was getting quesey just by standing in that one spot. _What the hell happened?_ I thought, grabbing my head tightly. I looked around. I was back in the cell. Then, the sound that woke me up got even louder. I scuffled over to the bars, looked around the room, and discovered the source of the noise. 

A few cells across the room, in another cell, there was a Marill. I watched him for a few seconds before I noticed that the sound he was making, was a sound I thought I'd never hear in this place. He was _laughing?_ I couldn't believe what I was seeing, but upon a closer look, I realized it wasn't what I thought. Upon further inspection, I noticed that he was laughing like some insane lunatic from an asylum.

He was on the floor, pounding his fist into the floor, and clutching his stomach. He must have been through a lot for him to laugh like that. I had also noticed that he had more wounds on his body than me, suggesting that he had been here for a rather long time. This little show went on for about 6 minutes or so, until security finally came bursting in. They rapidly opened his door, took him out, and then dragged him out of the room, through a different door on the other side of the room, him still laughing every second.

There was a long silence after he was taken away, until I finally said, "Ok, that...was messed up!" I looked around the room again. Other Pokemon in cells had went up to their doors and watched the bizzare scene in surprise. Most of them were still staring, eyes widened. Then, a small thought crossed my mind. _How...how far am I from ending up like that guy? From going completely insane and being dragged out to who knows where?_ I thought, still absorbing what I had just seen. Of course, I knew what would happen if was dragged out of here.

That's when I heard it. A really loud bang. It rang throughout the room, echoing off the rusted walls and through all the cells. Instantly, I knew what the sound was, and an ice cold feeling swept down my spine, and I became almost completly paralyzed with fear. _That was a gunshot!_

Thats when terror set in the room. **Everyone** heard that! You could tell by the horrified looks on their faces. All the Pokemon had now become nervous looking with terrified gazes on their face. Some had even backed up against the cell walls and huddled up in a corner, mubbling to themselves. This was one of the worst sights I had ever seen, and one of the most terrifying sounds I had ever heard.

"Don't worry, it wont be too long before we all end up like that. Laying on the floor, huddled into a ball, quivering like souless jelly molds, mumbling to ourselves like some insane lunes trying to keep our sanity, while unknown to us, it is so far from gone. Get someone to talk to, you might last a bit longer than the loners. Loners are always the first to go..." said a nearby voice. I thought it was Sparks, so I went over to the hole to talk, and try and keep **my** sanity. I definitly didn't want to end up like that crazed Marill. There was something wierd about his voice today. It sounded higher pitched, almost female...but I ignored it. When I looked through the hole, I was stunned at what I saw.

Sparks wasn't near the hole. In fact, he was all the way on the opposite side of the cell, asleep. I noticed that he was in a funny position. He was in the corner, huddled up for warmth. He was pushing his ears down to his head, as to block out every sound he could, and he had a strained look on his face as he slept. It was obvious that he was cold and had heard the insane laughter and gunshot, and was desperatly trying to ignore it and remain asleep.

Now only one thing confused me. _Who was just talking to me?_ I thought. "Oh, please don't say I'm hearing imaginary voices! Am I losing it too!?" I said aloud.

"No, your not hearing imaginary voices and I'm not sure, but you might be losing it. I'm in the cell next to you." the voice said again. I was sure that the voice was female now. So, I went over to the source of the voice. It was very great satisfaction to know that I wasn't losing it, or hearing voices.

There wasn't a hole on this side so I couldn't see her, but somehow she knew I was there. Finally, she said, "Well, I thought you'd never find me. Of course, I also thought that everyone here had already snapped and become mentally unstable, but I guess that I can be wrong twice in the same day. So, are you going to give me some details about yourself or what?."

She was definitly a strange one. She used lots of sarcasm, attempting to make jokes out of everything she could. She also, seemed a bit demanding, but I blamed this place for that. Although, she was sarcastic and bossy, she had an innocent sound in her voice, which sounded calm and quiet. I could tell that she was only acting like this. I wondered what kind of Pokemon she was, but because her cell was right next to mine, I could not.

"Well?" she said, snapping me out of my daze of thought. I shook my head to wake myself up and then answered, "Well what?" _Boy, that was a stupid question!_ I thought, smacking myself in the head. She sighed and said, "Just tell me your name and where your from..."

"Well," I started, "My name is Raik, I'm a Raichu, and I used to live in the forest until I was brought to this place." I had lied about where I lived because I really didn't have a home. Sadly, I was a loner. I never wanted to stay in one place. I traveled mostly in the mountains and forests, very rarely near fields or clearings near cities. I found it too open and it would put me at the risk of encountering trainers. I never wanted to be imprisoned in a ball and forced to fight other Pokemon just so the trainer could get some cheap plastic that allows him to battle harder trainers. Thats all trainers did. But none of this was really important. I then asked her, "What about you?"

She simply replied, "Well, my name is Mikka (Mee-Kuh), and I'm a Squirtle. I used to live by the ocean, in a small quiet grotto. I really do miss it, and I would give anything to get back there..." Well, it was nice to know what Pokemon she was, so my curiousity could now stop pestering me.

"So, what experiments they got you doing?" she asked out of curiousity. I should have known this was going to come up. Asking others what experiments they've got you in was like some game around here, probably the only thing keeping most prisoners sane. I simply answered what I always did when asked this question, "MCTS14. I'm still not sure what it stands for..." She sighed again, sounding dissapointed. I knew that she must not be in my section.

She then replied, "I haven't found anyone with the same number as me yet...I fell like I'm the only one..." Now she sounded depressed. I thought that I may be able to help her out if I knew what her's was. So I asked, "What's yours?" She replied, "PDITS02, and before you ask, it stands for Power Draining Injecton Test Subject." Well, she read my mind because that was exactly what I was about to ask. I didn't have to ask about what that meant because I had been injected with the stuff according to those 2 guys. I wanted to know one question though.

"So, if you've been injected with the same stuff I was, then you must know how long it lasts, right?" I asked. There was a short silence until she finally said, "Well, it depends. You were injected when?"  
"I have no idea. I just woke up. They could have injected me while I was asleep."  
"Well, how long were you out?"  
"Dunno."  
"Ok, when were you brought here?"

I had to think for a while because I wasn't sure. I just made an estimate and said, "I'm guessing somewhere around a day or 2..." She then said, "Well, it should have worn off already. The newest ones only last about 15 hours. Try and use an attack." I didn't want to know how she knew it took that long. I attempted a Thundershock, but nothing happened besides a few sparks, followed by quiet crackling. "Nothing." I said unhappily.

"Well, they must have given you a fresh injection while you slept. So, 15 hours of no power whatsoever. Welcome to my life here." she concluded. I was pretty disappointed now knowing how long they actually last. _Great...15 hours! Just perfect...and then after that wears off, I can go for ANOTHER 15 hours..._ I thought, now sitting in a slump.

I had to get out of here, but I had no ideas. Everything here seemed to work perfectly. I saw no flaws in security, and I saw no way of escaping. The only things that seemed to be exits were the 2 doors at each end of the room, and the "window" in my cell. Of course, it didn't look like a window. It never produced light, and it never opened. And if it wasn't a window, then why was it barred up like one? I sat there and thought about everything for a long time. I thought of everything that I learned about this place, and everything I saw. Then, it hit me like a sack of rocks. I knew instantly what it was. Everything added up! Now there was only thing left to do. I had to plan the escape...

* * *

Man, I have a lot of chapters...


	5. Chapter 4: The Vent

Author's Note:  
Okay, heres number 4! So, enjoy!

-Raik the Raichu

* * *

Chapter 4: The Vent

I'm not sure how long I was there. It was impossible to tell time when your cut off from the outside world for so long. It felt like I had been there for months, when it could have just been a matter of days. Lucky for me, now I had 2 others to talk to. We formed a group, and together, remained sane.

Everyone had been on edge since the Marill incident. Today though, everything seemed more quiet than usual. Dead, lifeless, as though everyone had dissapeared, but they were not. They were mearly hiding in fear, trying to live in the shadows, to keep away from any pain. No matter where you hid, they would get you. You cant escape from pain, and suffering in a place like this. It was inevitable, like death. One way or another, your time comes, and there's nothing to do...

It was colder than usual today, and in a stone and metal cell, no warmth could be obtained. I knew that we must be dead-smack in the center of winter. There was no doubt about that. Over the extended time I had been here, I have had 5 more tests like the one before, where I lost consciousness. They were just the same, only with different Pokemon in the room. I did see that Bulbasaur during the next test I took. The wierd part of it was that he seemed deathly afraid of me once I entered the room, with a look of pure terror on his face. It confused me because I had no idea why he reacted like that. Of course the test after that one, I never saw him again...

Each test, the headaches got even worse, causing me to drop to the floor in pain in a shorter amount of time. Everytime, I woke up in the same position, face first on the cell floor, head throbbing uncontrolably. I was now expecting all of it to happen in the same order, like a daily routine.

I sat there, huddled in the corner, trying my best to remain warm. It was a feeble attempt, but I had no other option if I wanted to get warm. I wasn't going to go crazy. but I was getting really off. I couldn't stand this place anymore! I had eaten nothing since I got here, causing my stomach to cramp horribly. I was freezing, and the chain only made it worse. Plus, to top it all off, I was getting skull spliting headaches everyday, and it was driving me mad! My only hope now was for my escape plan to work, but I didn't have everything I needed yet.

The discovery of what the "window" really was made this plan possible. I had discovered that what I thought was a window, was actually an air vent, which blew cold air into the room, giving the dungeon atmosphere. Thanks to what Sparks had told me before about this place, everything added up. He said that everything was made to _look like_ a dungeon. Then, there was the warm air from the one room I felt during the first tests I'd taken. Finally, the vent never produced light like a window should in the day. That all added up to only one thing: a vent.

The only problem with the plan so far was that I had to get one more item that would be hard to get in order for the plan to succeed. I needed a scalpel, to remove the screws off the barred grate that sealed the vent shut. I already had a hairpin for picking the locks on the chain, and a couple bricks to stand on to reach the vent. Those were easy, but I wasn't sure how I was going to get a scalpel. I managed to think of a way to get one, but Mikka would have to get it. She would need to hide one in her shell when they brought her in for a quick test. It all depended on her...

I had to wait a while, she had only been gone about 5 minutes. While I waited, I started to talk to Sparks about the escape. He had seemed to like the idea of getting out of this "hellhole" as he called it. "I would give a leg to get out of this cell and get some food!" he had told me before. He looked desperate to get out of here, just like everyone else in here. Unlike everyone though, we were getting out of here later today, when all the guards left.

After another few minutes, they finally brought Mikka back, and put her in her cell. Surprisingly enough, it was the same 2 guys who brought me to around the facility. They looked the same everyday, with same clothes and hair. They even carried the same guns I had seen them with before. The one black haired guy gave me a dirty look before he left with the other guy.

Once they left, I walked over to the right side of the bars and tried to see if she was okay. "Mikka? Are you alright?" I asked with concern. I heard a groan, and then a cough. She sounded hurt. I asked again, "Are you okay?"

Finally, she answered, "Yes...cough...I'm fine. They just threw me into the cell is all. Can't wait to get out of here..." I wondered if that meant she had gotten the scalpel after all. I had to know, so I asked, "Did you get it?"

"It took a while to get, but I mangaed to grab one while they were distracted with the papers. Here." she said. There was a metal-hitting-stone sound and I looked to the ground to be greeted by what I had wanted for so long. A scalpel, and my chance at escape. I picked it up and studied it. It was a nice gleaming silver, pretty much brand new, and looked completely unused. Now that we had everything that we needed, all that was left was to wait for the chance.

The chance came sooner than expected. Only about a few hours after Mikka brought the scalpel, the guards made one last check on all the Pokemon, walked out the door, and locked it behind him. This would be our only chance to get out of here. Quickly the plan set in.

The first step was to pick the locks on the chains hooked to our necks. It was a tedious task, making me very frustrated. I had to jam the pin into the little hole and try to release the lock, which I spent forever doing. Once I finally got it, I handed the pin over to Sparks, so that he could try to pick his. While he did that, I stacked the bricks on top of each other, and used them as a stepping stool to reach the grate. Then, I had to use the scalpel to unscrew the screws to open the grate. This, like the lock picking, was tedious and annoying. The screws were brand new and were screwed in tightly, forcing me to strain every muscle in my arms to twist them out.

Once I got 2 out, there was a tap on my foot. I jumped and fell off the bricks, landing on my head. When I opened my eyes, I was greeted by Sparks. He was hovered over me, staring at me with a smile, holding up the hairpin. _Sneaky little devil must have crawled through the hole while I was distracted..._ I thought as he brought the pin to Mikka. I climbed back up onto the bricks, and finished pulling the last 2 screws out. The grate almost fell, but I managed to catch it before it could. If it had hit the ground, we might have gotten caught.

The only thing left to do now was wait for Mikka to get her chains off and unscrew the grate on her vent. There was no hole for her to crawl through to my cell, so she couldn't come with us. We would have to meet her in the somewhere ventilation system.

"I got the chain off. Hand me the stuff!" she said. I slid the bricks and the scalpel to the front of her cell, and she took them. I gave her instructions on what to do, and she okayed me. I heard her struggling to remove the screws, but she managed to get them out after a while. Finally, she we heard her gently put the grate on the floor and and then ask, "Now what?"

This was going to be very difficult to do since she wasn't in my cell. I told her to pass the bricks to me. I stacked the bricks so that I could get into the vent. Once I climbed in, I told Sparks to take the bricks to her and let her climb in to the vent in her cell. "Well, how am I getting up?" he asked, looking up at me. I turned around and dropped my tail out so that he could grab it and said, "Okay, try and climb up my tail. But do it quick because I'm gonna be feeling a lot of pain."

"Okay," he said, reassuringly. He gave a quick countdown, jumped up, and grabbed my tail and began oulling himself upward. It was really painful, as I was not used to carrying that much weight on my tail. I got lucky and he managed to get up really quickly. Afterwards, my tail was sore, but we had made it! The vents.

The first thing I noticed was how cold it was in the vent. As an added bonus, the whole vent was made of metal, so it made it worse. We managed though. The vent went straight for a few feet, and then forked in 2 defferent directions. Just as we got to the fork, Rikka came crawling from the left path. This was the first time I got a good look at her, but it was dark and hard to tell. There was some light from behind us pointing on her, allowing me to see her better.

She was barely injured, and was actually quite clean. She looked sweet with a soft complexion, and had a charming smile that swooned you in a way. She looked at us with the sweet smile, and said, "It's nice finally to see you guys!" She looked at me for a second and then said, "Wow, your in bad shape," she turned towards Sparks and said, "and so are you! How hard did they beat you guys?"

I looked at her and said, "That's not important right now. We have to get to the end of the ventilation system, find the exit out of the facility, and go get some officers or something to help us." Her and Sparks nodded in response. We started through the vents, passing many forks and turns. It seemed endless, like a maze, only we weren't hitting any dead ends. We had to be quiet or someone could hear us crawling around and contact security, then we'd be screwed...

It seemed as though the end of the vent system would never come, but we found it. We took many turns we thought might be wrong, but we had succeeded! I studied it carefully. It seemed rusted slightly, a first so far. I grabbed hold of it and yanked on it, and to my surprise, it popped right off. _That was easy! Another first..._ I thought, still holding onto the rusted grate. I layed it behind me against the vent wall, and cautioned Mikka and Sparks to be careful to not step on it.

After a conformation hand signal from them, I slowly began to climb out of the vent. Strangly, the vent exit was right near the floor, so climbing out wasn't a big deal. I touched the floor, it's nicer, warmer feel on my feet making me happier every second. I took a quick look at the new surroundings, and was quite pleased with them. A small thought crossed my mind, making the experience greatly enjoyable.

* * *

Onto number 5! 


	6. Chapter 5: The Facility

Author's Note:  
Well, this is possibly one of my shorest chapters, and not very important, but still good to read and know whats happeneing...

-Raik the Raichu

* * *

Chapter 5: The Facility

For once in this place, happiness had overswept me. We got out of those dank cells and were one step closer to getting out of this dump. The outside world had been out of my reach or so long, and now, I could almost feel the wind blowing through my fur, the bright sun greeting me in the sky. I couldn't wait, and nothing was going to stop me from reaching it.

Rikka and Sparks had crawled out of the vent and were standing behind me, getting a good look at the room we had obliviously entered. It was definitly a change of scenery. The room was filled with large pipes, all leading through the walls. The walls were a white plaster, and the floors were stone, like in the cells, only cleaner. We were in the main vent room, where they could control the temperature of the whole facility. I had an idea to make the base freeze and warm some of the Pokemon that were still in the cells, but I knew it would give us away. So we continued onwards, to the door at the end of the room.

We opened the door, which took a few seconds, considering we weren't the tallest guys here, and entered the next room. We had entered a hallway. We looked down both ends of the long passageway. The only lights on were very dim, and had a dull yellowish tint to them. Back-up Lights. _They probably use them for night use, as to not burn power._ I thought, still studying them.

We decided to turn left and head down that way. Something in the back of my head had told me to take the left side, so, I listened. My instincts would usually point me in the right direction. They always did. When I was wandering the forests, my instincts would tell me to go in the directions that normally wouldn't be taken, but I followed. I was always lead to food and a warm place to sleep, and sometimes, other Pokemon to chat with. Of course, being a loner, I had almost no friends. In fact, Rikka and Sparks were my **only true** friends. But, right now, none of this mattered. What mattered now was to find the exit, and get out of here.

We traveled down the hall, blissfully unaware of what we might encounter, but it did not stop us. We were fueled by the urge to escape. After finally reaching the end of the hall, we came to a door. This door was strange for a few reasons. For one thing, it had nothing on it that opened it. No handle...no button...nothing at all. Secondly, it was more sleek looking than the other doors I had seen. I was confused as to how we would open this one, but just as we came close to it, it shot open with a quiet wooshing sound, making us jump in surprise.

For a second, we thought that someone opened the door and that we'd be caught and punished. When we realized no one was passing through the threshold, we came to the conclusion that it was an automatic door. My pulse had quickened from the shock of the stupid door. _If the door made me jump like that, I can only imagine what will happen if they find us...probably have a heart-attack..._ I thought.

When we entered the new room, we were overswept with curiousity on the look of the room. It was bigger than the vent room by a big some of feet, and was a bit more empty than it too. It had a few metal tables that were topped with an assortment of papers and office supplies, and one computer in the corner. We went over and checked it. It was broken because it wouldn't turn on, even when plugged in. There was another door at the end of the room so we left.

We had entered another hallway, only this one was smaller. _I swear, this place is getting more confusing with every turn..._ I thought, still trying to navigate through the facility.

We kept on entering door after door, only to hit dead ends. We must have been wandering for at least an hour. Very surprisingly, there were no guards anywhere, and it creeped me out. The silence in the facility was ominous, and dead-like. I couldn't believe that there was no night security. They must think that escape is impossible, but we proved them wrong. Of course, we were still lost, which made no difference. If we didn't get out in time, they'd find us and kill us.

We came up to another door and entered. This room was very small, lika a small office. There was a desk loaded with an assortment of office supplies, papers, and files. Along with the stuff, there was a small computer on the desk, the screen flickering. Out of curiousity, we went up to it and observed it. The screen was black, and had one word on the screen that read: _Password: _.

I attempted to enter some. I first tried: _Pokemon_. The screen read: _Incorrect Entry_. I tried some more.  
_Experiment_  
_Incorrect Entry_  
_Facility_  
_Incorrect Entry_  
_Test Subject_  
_Incorrect Entry_

I wasn't getting anywhere. I looked around the desk for any hint for what the password was. There wasn't much. Drawers filled with paper. A few folders. Nothing useful. I looked over at the wall where there were sticky notes posted up. They were all labeled with times, dates, meetings. Yet again, nothing useful. I was about to give up when I noticed a sticky note sticking out from under the keyboard. I pulled it out and looked at it with a smirk. The paper read: _User_. I entered it into the computer and it froze for a second. Suddenly the screen turned white and read: _Password Accepted_.

* * *

Yup...now for #6... 


	7. Chapter 6: Database

Author's Note:  
Kay, this chapter is very important to the storyline! This chapter is the must read! So dont skip it!

-Raik the Raichu

* * *

Chapter 6: Database

The screen had become filled with file-shaped buttons. I had no idea what to do, or how to work computers. I could use a keyboard just fine because all the buttons are labeled, but the mouse was completely clueless to me. I then turned to Sparks and Mikka who were just standing there watching in confusion. I looked at them for a second, then asked, "Do any of you know how to work this thing?"

Sparks shot me a look that said 'you dont know how to use it?' Then he said, "Well, maybe...but what is all this stuff?" directing a motion towards the keyboard and mouse. I guessed that he might be a quicker learner than me. I signaled him to come on up. He hopped up and began studying all the equipment.

"Ok," I began, pointing at the keyboard first, "this is a keyboard. Use it to type words and other things we might need." He gave a quick nod, and let me continue. I pointed towards the mouse and said, "This is a mouse. I have no idea what it does...thats your job."

Mikka looked up at me and said, "But Raik, that looks nothing like you." I stood there with total confusion on my face. All I could say was, "What?" She got a big smile on her face and said, "Well, it's a mouse right?" I nodded in response. "And your a mouse right?" she asked.

"Technically, yes...but where are you getting at?" I asked, still a bit confused. She kept her smile and said, "Well then, if your both considered a mouse, then why dont you look alike?" I gave a look and said, "Your kidding, right?" She kept smiling which I guessed ment 'yes.'

"No, wait. Look. Here's the super long tail!" Sparks said laughing, and grabbing the mouse and showing the cord which plugged into the back. He then smiled too and said, "I always wondered why your tail was so long, and today, I got my answer!"

Mikka chuckled quietly. I just looked at him and said, "Haha, very funny. Just remember, you'll be a Raichu soon too, and your going to have the same sized tail!" Sparks looked at me and said, "It's a joke. Have some fun. I mean were leaving this place, so why not party?"

"We can party, but save it for when we get out of here, okay?" I asked. Sparks and Mikka both said, "Fine," and we continued with the computer. Sparks was now messing around with the mouse, trying to see how it worked. After a few minutes, he managed to figure out the basics and we could now start to search for some kind of floor plan for the facility so we could find the nearest exit and leave, once and for all.

The files appeared on the screen vertically, and read:  
_Basic Facility Procedures_  
_Facility Resources_  
_New Staff_  
_Facility Experiments_  
_Other_

I watched and read down the list, and stopped when I read "Facility Experiments." Thats what I wanted to know...the acronym on my tail! I quickly said, "Go into the experiments one." He nodded and got in.

There were more files listed, only these were all of the acronyms:  
_BSTS_  
_RPTS_  
_MCTS_  
_KDTS_  
_DSTS_  
_PDITS_

I looked at him, and he looked back, with surprise. First, I let him check his first. He entered the DSTS file and the screen flashed more files:  
_DSTS01_  
_DSTS02_  
_DSTS03_

We decided to read some of the other logs, just to see how it went with the other Pokemon subjected to this experiment. We opened the file and a typed document appeared on the screen. It wasn't very long:

_"The De-Evolutionary Stones we have tested are going to change Pokemon capture forever. The stone is the same size as any average evolutionary stone, only it has no symbol embeded into it. The using of the stone is basic, simple, and will require good aim and a Pokemon that has a either evolved or has a pre-evolutionary stage. Once the stone hits it's target, it reverts them to childhood, literally. The stone has the negative effect of the evolutionary stones, making the Pokemon weaker and easier to capture."_

Well, that explained the reason Sparks was a Pichu instead of the Pikachu he claimed he was before. He looked more satisfied now knowing what was happening to him. We continued to read:

_"Subject 01 was administered the test at 19:00 hours. The test rendered him unconscious for an average of 3.4 hours and had no effect. The only major difference was a large lump from where the stone had hit him. The first prototype was trashed and discontinued."_

The only question was what had happened to the 'failed test subject.' I didn't want to know, so we ignored the question, and read the next subject's file:

_"Subject 02 was issued to test the newest prototype of De-Evolutionary Stone. The newest one had increased strength to make-up for the weaker one. The testing began at 03:00 hours and ended with surprising results. The subject _did_ revert back to the childhood form, but after 4 minutes, it quickly changed back, showing the new prototype to be a failure. The flaw, yet again, was the lack of strength the stone had. The stone was expected to put them in their childhood form for an average of 30-45 minutes. We had to fix that before testing another prototype."_

One more file left. Sparks number. He quickly opened it and rapidly scanned through it. I followed:

_"Subject 3 is the latest of the test subjects for the De-Evolutionary stone. The newest model had a high energy level, and was up to the point where it was believed that the Pokemon would be out for the expected amount of time. The suject was brought in at 23:00 hours, and was quickly administered the test. The tests were proving very successful, up until it reached the expected amount of time. The 45 minute time limit had been greatfully surpassed, and was going on 1.4 hours. The energy levels in the stone had been set too high, causing an irreversible reversion to the childhood stage. The subject is still in good condition for more experiments, but nothing has been released about whether or not to put him into a new experiment, or just condemn him to execution."_

After reading that, I had a stunned look on my face. The words _irreversible_ and _execution_ haunted my mind like Ghastly haunted an old house. I looked over to see how Sparks had taken it. He had a grim look in his eyes, and despair looked as though it had swept through his entire body. I walked over and patted him on the head and said, "Sorry, man."

He looked up at me, tried to flash a quick smile, and calmly said, "Don't worry about it. I'm fine." I saw his eye lid give a quick twitch. I knew he was just trying to cover up the real sadness he was feeling, but I didn't want to pester him.

I looked down at Mikka on the floor, who was looking up at us in confusion. I decided to change the subject, and asked, "Do you want to open your file?" She stood there and thought, and then said, "I don't mind, really..."

We opened the file marked "PDITS" and it brought up a typed document, but no other files. We bagen to read the document:

_"The Power Draining Injections are revolutionary to our studies, making testing easier on us and the Pokemon. The injections are given to the Pokemon through a syringe, and the newest batch can last for up to 15-16 hours. During the time the injection is in effect, the Pokemon can use no elemental attacks such as Thunder Bolt or Psychic. The Pokemon can however use physical attack like Tackle and Iron Tail, and injections are being worked to cancel out those attacks as well. Due to the basic properties in making these, only 3 test subjects were needed to test new ones."_

Well, there wasn't anything new that we didn't already know. We continued to a section where it mentioned marketing ideas:

_"The goal for this was initially to help us, but ideas to sell it as a hunting aid was highly considered and is still being decided. If put into tranquilizer darts, the Pokemon could not fight back in anyway, making it easier for beginner hunters to catch their prey. The product could rake in millions, but is only a thought."_

I just couldn't believe what they were thinking. They were going to sell it as a weapon for the humans enjoyment. This whole experience was questioning my trust in the humans. I thought that after this, I would be just about done with humans for good.

There was only one file left that was of any interest to me. Mine. I had to see what they were doing to me. Painful headaches that cause blackouts aren't normal, and I was going to find out what they were doing and why these headaches had been bothering me since my arrival.

I motioned Sparks to the file labeled "MCTS" and we entered it. The file brought up 3 more files:  
_MCTS01-05_  
_MCTS06-10_  
_MCTS11-14_

I was tired of reading them one-by-one. I wanted to know now. I told him to click mine, and another document popped up on the screen. This one was long, but it explained everything and I was shocked at what I read:

_"The Machter Mental Control-Chip is a fine piece of technology. The chip shows off only the best nano-technology has to offer. The chip is placed into the surface of the skull, and, once activated, will lock on to the brain waves of the test subject and allow them to be controlled by our computers."_

I stood there, my eyes enlarged to the size of tennis balls, and my mouth agape. I thought I might pass out and die right there on the spot, but some unknown force kept me standing. _Mind control!? They're using mind control!?_ I thought, still stunned. I turned towards Sparks, who was now looking at me with remorse and sympathy, but also with a bit of stun. I skipped the other 3 files, and went straight to mine:

_"The latest subject was captured and imeadiately brought into the surgical operation room. He was unknowingly fitted with the newest model of our chips. The latest model is a Machter Model 3 Type 12, which we have proven to be more successful than the others. The subject was subjected to the testing and with positive results. Eyewitnesses say that he began to grab his head furiously and then fell to the ground for a few seconds. They then got control, and successfully made him brutally attack the other subject at the other end of the room. Due to the injections the reports said he had taken, he had beaten the other subject brutally with nothing more than his bare hands. This just shows the true power of the chips."_

I tried to comprehend what I had just read, but I couldn't because it was so unbelievable. I had visiously _beaten_ another Pokemon! I wiped my face with my hands, roughly. I was now getting a headache, and just the thought of getting another one of those made me afraid that at any minute, I could lose control and attack them. There had to be something I could do, but what?

After a while, I got my idea. I figured that maybe if I could fry the chip with an electrical shock or charge, it would no longer be able to be used by them. The only problem was that I had those stupid injections in my system still, so it wouldn't work, and Mikka was a Water-Type so she couldn't help even if she didn't have the injections.

Another problem was that I had no idea where the chip was located. Without that knowlage, I couldn't fry it. Just then, I realized the most obvious answer to that question. The computer must have had a file on the operation or something.

I quickly scrolled through some more info on my tests, and then I found it. Attached at the bottom of the document, was an X-ray with the label "MCTS14". The picture showed what was supposed to be my skull, facing to the right, and near the top, right behind the ear, was a small black dot. It had to be the chip. I felt behind my ear where the X-ray showed the chip to be located, and I felt a small bump in a straight line form. _That must have been where they put the chip..._ I thought, still feeling the scar.

I had to worry about that later, main priority for now was to find a map to help us escape. We went back and opened the file named "Basic Facility Procedures" and found ourselves looking at another bunch of files:  
_Rules_  
_Cleaning/Repairs_  
_Emergencies_  
_Security_

None of them sounded helpful except for the "Emergencies" file. We figured it might have a map for fire exits or something of use to us. We opened the file and it brought up more files:  
_Fire_  
_Break In_  
_Escaped Test Subjects_

Obviously, the one that could help was "Fire" so we entered that and were greeted...with a map showing the exits! The facility was pretty big, but I mangaged to find the room we were in. The nearest exit was just down the hall outside. We turned the computer off, and exited the room.

We continued down the hall and found the door. The door was labeled with a small sticker on the front that said "Exit". According to the map, this wasn't a fire escape, so it wouldn't make a sound when opened. This one had to be pushed open. After some serious struggling, we got it open, and wandered into the darkness before us.

* * *

Hope you didnt skip this... 


	8. Chapter 7: Crimson Rain

Author's Note:  
This chapter is also pretty critical to the story, so make sure to read this one!

-Raik the Raichu

* * *

Chapter 7: Crimson Rain

Rain. To many, it's looked to as a burdon. They take it for granted. To others, it's an everyday thing that just never stops. But, to someone who hasn't seen the outside world in a month...it's beautiful. The heavy rain fell from the heavens, cooling the air, giving it a slightly humid feel. Even under the dense foliage of the tree, I was still getting drenched. It didn't bother me at all. In fact, I was getting cleaner.

It had been an hour or two since we escaped from the facility. The exit we took led to a small cave, making the exit hard to find. We found our way out and began trying to find a way out of the forest, and out to the nearest town. If we could find a town, we could get some help from the police, and bust the jackholes at that facility.

I stood there, thinking on how I was gonna find this town. It was gonna be hard, as we had no idea where the hell we were, or even if there was a town around here. But I didn't care. The most important thing right now was to get as far away as possible from this place.

I stood there on that branch for what seemed like forever, and just stared out at the rain drenched forest. It entranced me, making me space off into it's beauty. The real reason I was up there was to check to make sure that we weren't being followed by any guards. I was the lookout.

I had been standing there for an hour, ignoring the fact that I was soaked to the bone, and it was the middle of the night, making me cold. The icy wind wasn't helping much either. The rain had fallen, without hesitation, for hours. I was tired, and needed sleep. I yawned, and with that, I jumped down from the branch, and down to the tree's trunk, where Sparks and Mikka were laying.

Mikka had blacked out immeadiatly, but Sparks was leaning against the tree, staring at me. I looked at him for a few seconds and then asked, "What is it?"He looked over and said, "Well, what are we doing?"  
"I'm not sure..." I answered, confused like him.  
"Do you have any idea of what we should do?"  
"Only one," I started, "We have to find a nearby town, and get help. I'm sure that they'll have police there."  
"Well, where is this magic town your talking about?"

I looked at him blankly, and he instantly got the message. I desperatly wated to come across any town at this moment. I was tired, hungry, and had a mind control chip that was sending small painful electric discharges through my body every 5 minutes. I wasn't sure if the chip had broken, fried, or was just having troubles, but it was pissing me off. I needed to get it out.

I looked over at Mikka. She was curled into her shell, trying to keep warm in this chilled night weather. With all the rain dropping on her, it was a pointless attempt. I felt sorry for her and Sparks.

_They don't deserve this...no one does..._

I sharply turned, and saw that Sparks had fallen asleep, still in the same position as before. Me being tired, I leaned against the tree, right between Sparks and Mikka, and silently drifted off into the dark of sleep.

------

My dreams now were dark, and usually contained my death flashing repeatidly before my eyes. Being shot, stabbed, or just dropping dead from starvation. Even when I was awake, theses terrible images flashed in my head, with no end at all. It was enough to make you want to end it all, but I held on. I had faith that we'd get help, and put a stop to all this.

I awoke, startled by a loud booming noise in the distance. I literally lept up from where I was sleeping, and ran up the tree like a frightened cat. When I had realized what I had done, I almost slapped myself. I was hoping that no one had seen that. I was overcome by [bthat[/t feeling, shot my head around, and realized that Mikka and Sparks were already up the tree, peeking their heads out of the leaves.

"What the hell are you doing?" I asked, rather loudly. That's when both of them jumped on me and put their hands on my mouth. They gave a quick _sshhh_, and pointed into the direction of where they were poking their heads out.

Mikka whispered, "You certainly did wake up at a great time. Someone is shooting guns out there...we're afraid it might be someone from the facility." She sounded frightened. I went over and took a peek thorugh the dense leaves.

Just then, another gun shot sounded, causing me to jump in my spot. I looked further out, and thats when I saw them. The 2 guards from the facility were wandering through the forest, blindly looking for us. In their hands, large weapons (most likely the sounds from before).

They were different weapons than the ones they had had at the facility. They were black, and looked larger. The barrel protruded more outward, and the clip hung out in front of the trigger. On the top, there was what looked to be a handle, and securely placed on top of that, was a scope.

The first thought that crossed my mind was whether or not they were as deadly as the ones from before. Well, just that minute I got my answer. One of the guards signaled upward, where a lone Pidgeotto was just hovering up in the sky, enjoying the damp morning breeze. Just then, the black-haired guard shouldered his weapon, aimed high at the bird, and fired a single round. The Pidgeotto explode into a large cloud of feathers, and went spiraling down the the ground with a soft _thump_.

I backed up in shock of what I had just seen. "What happened?!" Sparks said running up to me. Mikka ran up to the hole and peered out. After a few seconds she came up to me and asked the same question Sparks had asked.  
"What happened?" she asked.  
"I'm not sure. I think they shot a Pidgeotto..." I said.  
"We're lucky...it could have been us..." said Sparks, trying to raise the positives. Mikka had gotten wide-eyed.

In the distance, you could hear them laughing in triumph. It sickened me. I couldn't see how shooting a defenseless Pokemon with large weaponry could bring joy to anyone. They had no souls...no remorse...no humanity...

With that, I turned, and hopped down from the tree. I started towards the opposite direction from the guards, and after a few seconds, Mikka and Sparks followed.

We now needed a way out more than ever. They were so close by, and at any minute, they could find them. I began to sprint in the opposite direction without noticing, and never looking back. I could tell that Mikka and Sparks were have a hard time keeping up, so I slowed my pace a bit, allowing them to go ahead of me by a few feet.

After maybe 15 or 20 minutes of constant running, we stopped at a tree to catch a quick break, and try to find some food lying around. I climbed up the nearest tree and found my face beaming with joy when I saw a few apples hanging daintly on it's branches. I tore them from their place, and brought them down for us to enjoy. After finishing his apple, Sparks looked to me and asked, "So...any ideas as to where we're headed?"  
"No," I started, swallowing a big chunk of apple, "but I'm sure that we have at least gotten far away from the guards."

"_Pretty sure?!_" Mikka asked in a shocked tone, almost choking on her food. She swallowed what she choked on, and continue her ranting, "I dont want a _pretty sure_! I want a definitly! I am not going to die in their hands!"

"I'll figure out where we are! Just take it easy...you're going to choke..." I said, but she began yelling at me again.  
"I would much rather choke to death on an apple than have a large rifle bullet fly through my head at Mach 3! Wouldn't you!?"

I nodded in response, trying to avoid being yelled at again. She was having some very weird mood swings. When I met her, she seemed souless. While escaping, she had a joyful attutude. But now, she was biting my head off for something out of my control. I just didn't understand women...

After we finished are little break, we began looking for a town. The sky above was a swarm of clouds and moisture. The rain had dissappeared last night, leaving no more than muddy puddles, and 3 soaked Pokemon.

While in the midst of thought, I heard a sound from behind. It was the small crack of a twig. A weird shiver rode it's way down my back, but I ignored it and kept onward. After another few seconds, another snap. I stopped. Mikka asked, "What's wrong, Raik?"

Another snap sounded, then a few strange metallic clicks. At that moment, I realized what had been bothering me.

_The guards!_

Without any warning, I yelled, "Get Down!" I dropped down, and covered my head, just as a loud gunshot rang through the air. Something had splattered all over my back, and I had a bad feeling about it. My suspicions were confirmed when Mikka let out a loud shriek of terror.

In a flash, I got up and turned around, and faced a truely grusome sight. Mikka was staring in terror at Sparks, who now had a hole in him the size of a golf ball. Blood was pouring profusely from the hole, and all over the ground in front of him. He stood there, almost completely frozen, then he looked down at the tremendous wound, and looked back up at me with large eyes. The last thing he said was, "Ah crap," then he fell face first into the pool of his own blood, dead.

Mikka hadn't moved an inch, but I could see her eyes welling up with tears. She was spotted with blood, which I was guessing was all over my back as well. I wasn't sure how I felt. I was shocked, yet sad at the same time. I held back tears, but some had escaped me. Before I could mourn any longer, another gunshot sounded, and we both ran and took cover in a nearby tree.

We waited quietly for the guards to leave. After moments of silence, we heard the sound of footsteps nearing the area where Sparks was laying. For a moment, there was no sound, then came mild laughter. Finally, more footsteps leading away from us, and then nothing.

I sat on that branch, and slowly drifted off, as Mikka sobbed uncontrolably. There was nothing that could calm her now. Nothing I could do. Our souls had almost been completely shattered by this whole ordeal, and it wouldn't be much longer before we joined Sparks, and died in the terror of our own blood...

* * *

Yay, the first tragedy! 


	9. Chapter 8: Falling Bullets

Author's Note:  
As I said before, andother crutial chapter. READ. NOW.

-Raik the Raichu

* * *

Chapter 8: Falling Bullets 

Sparks death haunted over us, ruthlessly. I couldn't sleep, and being awake was just as worse as a nightmare. Mikka had been crushed. She was no more than a depressed wreck seeking any amount of happiness, and I myself could not provide the comfort or joy that she desperatly needed.

For the next couple of days, we hadn't covered much ground. We didn't feel like moving, or even trying. We had the fear of a similar death coming to us. As if to add to our problems, niether of us had seen the 2 guards around since Sparks had been shot, which meant that they could be anywhere...even watching us from afar.

Finally came the day that I attempted to convince Mikka to let go of this whole ordeal and get help. I looked over at Mikka, who was leaning against the tree trunk, sulking in deep sadness, and said, "Mikka...you have to stop sulking. I'm just as upset about this as you are, but we have to get to a town now! If you stay out here any longer, then your fate will be the same as Sparks's..."

There was a small pause, and finally, she turned to me and looked at me with large soulful eyes, and said, "I really want to...but...it's too hard..."  
I put my hand on her head and said, "Yes it is, but do you want to die like Sparks...or would you like to live past tonight?"

She sniffed loudly, wiped her eyes once more, and said, "Your right...lets get going..." I nodded in agreement, and we continued in the direction we were originally headed.

For the next 2 hours, Mikka seemed to be holding up well. She might have just gotten over it, if it hadn't been for another loud gunshot ripping through the air. Once she heard that, she got the look in her eyes that told me she was close to bawling again. I attempted to comfort her with a hug, but it seemed only to create some minor help.

I was fine, but I was just as hurt as Mikka. Sparks was the only friend I had in pretty much my whole life...and then...just to see him die, 2-feet in front of me was just horrible. No one can recover from that in a short amount of time, so I just let Mikka let go on her own.

I knew, deep down, that we'd find help eventually. We would find a town, get help, and maybe a bite to eat, and a place to be safe. But, also, another voice inside said we wouldn't live long enough to be found by anyone besides the hunters.

As we continued down the path, I got a bad feeling...as if something were wrong. I looked around the area we were in. Normal looking trees were on all sides of us, and the occasional bush was leaned up against a few trees. Everything seemed..._too quiet_...

Remembering what happened last itme I felt disturbed by an eriee silence like this, I quickly turned to Mikka. I pulled her over by the arm and we ducked behind a tree. She pulled away and said, "What are you doing? Why do you look so tense?" I quickly shhed her, and pointed out to the far side of the path we were on.

She didnt seem to understand what I was doing, but looked anyway. When we looked, there wasnt anything there but a few leaves in the wind, but after a few seconds, there was rustling from a bush a few yards away, and then, out stepped the two hunters, rifles at the ready.

"Dammit! We were right behind them! How could you lose em that easily!?" yelled one of the hunters.  
"Well, you yelling that loud isnt going to make 'em come back!" yelled the other one in reply.

They began to quarrel, as Mikka and I watched, desperatly seeking an escape route. I scanned the area, and planned out a small plan to get away.

"Okay, all we have to do is sneak quietly behind all the trees, and go west. That way, we'll get away without them knowing." I told Mikka. "Just watch out for anything loud like twigs, and dont bump into a bush..."

She nodded in response and we started moving. The hunters, now arguing about whether or not they were lost, were too pissed with each other to notice Mikka and I slip out from behind the tree and begin moving towards the next one. Slowly, we crawled tree from tree, managing to keep quiet up until our cover was blown.

Apparently, one of the hunters got really pissed and began yelling to the point where he pulled out a handgun and began flailing it around.  
"Put the gun away! If you fire it, you'll scare the damned things away!" the other hunter said to him.  
"Whats to scare away!? You already lost them! I might as well fire this thing all I want!" screamed the one with the gun.

And with that, he pulled the trigger, and fired in a random direction. Amazingly enough, the stray bullet flew and hit the ground directly in front of Mikka, and she gave a quick, but loud, yelp. After she did, the hunters finally looked our way, and the one with the gun said, "Hey, look! They were right there the whole time!"

Mikka and I shot each other a terrified glance and we both screamed, "Run!" as we sped off in seperate directions. I began running in a frantic fashion, not even paying attention to where I was headed. Then, I heard the gunshots of the rifles close behind, and I knew that they must see one of us. I hoped it wasnt Mikka.

I stopped at a tree, and caught my breath. I was starting to get tired, and knew I couldnt keep running forever.

_Crap...so close to getting away and then the idiot fires off a round near the feet of an emotionally unstable female Squirtle...what are my chances..._ I thought to myself. The chances of all this happening were very unlikely. But that wasnt the point. the Point was, I knew they were close behind, but I just wasnt sure where. At any minute, they could shoot me down without me even realizing it.

Lost in thought, I snapped out of my daze once I heard a loud snap. I began darting my head in every direction, and then I saw him. The hunter was hiding behind a tree, laser aimer pointed at my head. I quickly jumped to my left, and he fired and missed. "Dammit! How could I miss him!?" he yelled as he began to chase me.

Now he wasnt sparing me anytime to rest, as he began to fire automatic rifle rounds like a crazy person in my directions. I was incredibly thankful that this guy was a bad shot cause the only thing that hit me was a couple of shots that grazed my ear and tail. I began making many sharp turns in hopes of losing him, but he always found me if he lost me. It would have been fine If I hadnt run into an unsuspected surprise around one tree, because I made anoter sharp turn and was greeted by the other hunter, who immediatly turned around, and began firing at me as well.

_Great..._ I thought while running, _...just great! Now Im begin chased by both of them! Could this get any worse!?_

Lucky for me, my luck turned around, and it got better. I began running rapidly between trees so that it was harder to track me. I knew now that only one guy was following me, and I tried to outrun him. I kept running, and then I came to a screeching halt.

The other hunter I thought I had lost had apparently gotten ahead somehow and headed me off. He was now standing, with his rifle pointed right at me, and an evil smile on his face. Not knowing what to do, I ran back the way I came from, which proved to be a dumb idea as well, seeing how the other guy following me was right there.

Now, I was stuck between both of them, guns pointed on me. Now, I was screwed. At this moment, I didnt know what to do, so I panicked and jumped on the hunter that I knew had the best shot. When I lept on him, he dropped his gun and began trying to pull me off, but I had wrapped my tail around his neck and I wasnt about to let go. I knew that the guy with the worst shot was left and now it was up to him to shoot me to get me off of him...I just had to wait for him to respond.

He didnt do anything until the hunter I was attacking yelled, "You frickin idiot! Shoot the damn thing and get it off my damn face!!" And with that, the hunter raised his gun, and began aiming, taking his time not to miss. Finally, he cocked the rifle slide, and fired. The second he cocked it, I unwrapped my tail and dropped off of the hunter, and his friend ended up shooting him directly in the throat.

The hunter grabbed his throat, made some choking sounds for a while, and fell face first into the ground, blood splatter everywhere. I stood looking at the body, and all I could say was, "Wow...I got **really** lucky!" And with that, I ran off. Before I did, I saw the hunter leaning over his dead partner, and strangly enough, he wasnt mourning...in fact, it seemed like he was panicking. Also, he was franticly trying to grab the weapons off the corpse.

I kept running until I reached a small clearing, where I took another break. At this point, I couldnt believe my luck. I had managed to escape twice, and got one of the hunters to kill his partner. Even with all this excitement going on, I couldn't help but think I was forgetting something.

Just then, a high-pitched scream erupted from somewhere close by, and I was instantly reminded..._Mikka!_

I darted in the direction of the scream, and crashed head first into something hard, causing me to fall on my face. When I looked up, I was relieved to see that it was Mikka. She looked at me with large eyes, and said, "Where have you been!? I have had this guy on my tail and he wont leave me alone! And God knows where the other guy is!"  
"Dont worry, he's dead..." I assured her.  
"Dead? But how is he--Look out!" she yelled.

I turned around to see the other hunter, out of breath and looking pissed and worried, aiming the rifle at me. This time, I had no chance to jump, and he fired a round directly at me.

The large bullet went right into my shoulder (which I got lucky for, cause he was aiming for my head), and sent me flying back about 3 feet, where I crashed onto the ground. The pain was incredibly unbearable, and I could feel the blood pouring out. After a few seconds, things were getting blurry and dark, and my body started to go numb. Finally, everything blacked-out, and I faded away into a deep sleep.

* * *

I like how I ended this chapter! Shocker! 


	10. Chapter 9: Sactuary

Author's Note:  
Kay, this is the last chapter that Ive already written, and now I must finish the last one...so keep reading, and Ill have the final chapter up soon!!

-Raik the Raichu

* * *

Chapter 9: Sanctuary

Everything was dark. Pitch black. I looked around...and I could clearly see myself! I was having an out of body experience! The only thing that remained visible besides me, was a small light emitting itself from the far end of the darkness. The moment I recognized it, I knew what was going on.

_Oh crap! Please tell me that Im not dead! Oh god no!_ I screamed in my head. Dying was not what I wanted to gain from this. All that work will have been nothing but a waste of time. I tried to escape the light, but as I ran farther from it, it seemed to just get closer and closer, until it completely surrounded me. Finally, my eyes shot open and I was greeted to a shocking sight.

I was staring at the tops of trees, and the cloudy gray sky. Pain surged throughout my entire body, mostly around my shoulder. I sat up, which created more pain in my body. I looked around, and gave a weak smile. _I'm...alive!_ I thought, somewhat happy.

Then, I realized something that hit me as hard as a large rock. _Mikka!_ I frantically looked in every direction, but found nothing but my own blood spilled everywhere. I was both happy and worried. I was happy that she wasnt lying dead in front of me, but I was worried that she could be in serious trouble. I tried not to think of what could have happened.

Then, I looked at my thrashed body in dismay. Besides the messy fur from before, I now had a hole in my shoulder which was slowly bleeding, and ached with pain every second I moved. I began trying to stand up, and after many tries and lots of pain, I finally got to my feet.

I was very dizzy, and was slowly losing balance as I tried to walk. I grabbed my shoulder as it pulsed with pain, and began to walk in the direction I was originally headed.

I could tell that losing all this blood was affecting me cause my vision was getting blurry and I was constantly losing balance, almost tripping over my own feet. I would have to slap myself to bring my vision back to normal, and mixed with the pain I was already feeling, it made a bad combination.

I wearily dragged myself down the pathway until I caught sight of a small pond near some bushes. I limped over and stared into the water. I looked like a mess. I wanted to collapse right there and hope for hte best, but I wasnt the type to just quite like that, so I just took a few sips of the water, and then tred to clean myself up a bit.

But as I bent my head down to wash my face, something hard brutally slammed into the back of my head, sending me right into the water's edge face-first. I felt a small cracking in my head, and I believed that I might of actually cracked my skull. Now feeling really dizzy, I turned around, only to be greeted by the last thing I wanted at this moment. The hunter.

He looked at me with an angry expression, and said, "Get up!" in a commanding voice. "Im surprised you're still alive after that shot, but I'll fix that now..." he said as he aimed that gun at me again.

At this point, something had snapped in me, because at that moment, I lept on him, and began viciously shocking him, causing him to yell out loud. I enjoyed seeing him suffer. It made me pleased to know this was getting what he deserved. Finally, I wrapped my tail around his neck, just like I did to his partner, only this time, I kept tightening it, squeezing the breath right out of him as he frantically tried to pull me off. I kept squeezing until he stopped moving completely, and collapsed, dead and no longer a threat to me.

With him finally dead, I gave a quick chuckle, and walked off, leaving the body where it dropped. What confused me was, I had just killed someone myself, and I felt nothing towards him. No sorrow. No sypathy. No hate. Just...pleasure, and happiness.

As I continued down the path, my vision started to get really blurry again, only, slapping myself did nothing to help. I felt worried that I might have worn myself out completely with that kill, and I might pass out again. I was feeling weak in my legs, and couldnt stand up much longer. Thats when I heard it.

"-okay, keep looking. Hey! Have you checked the bushes over there? Well, check them! We need to find these missing Pokemon! The trainers are starting to get really impatient, and more just keep disappearing everyday." said a faint voice. I thought for a while, and realized who they are instantly.

_A Search and Rescue Team?!_ I thought with high hopes. I used all my energy to run towards the sound, and find out who was making it. My running brought me to a bush, where I could hear the talking from the other side. I peered through and got a good look at where the talking came from.

On the other side of the bush, there was a bunch of people dressed up in uniforms, which looked resembled a police outfit. The voice I heard earlier came from a female police officer, who looked as if she was the leader in this search party.

"Okay, so whats our status Rick?" the lady officer asked one of the officers.  
"Well, there doesnt seem to be anything out here...the kidnappers probably left the country..." the officer named Rick said, dissapointed.  
"Damn...well, theres no use trying to find something that isnt here anymore...tell everyone to pack up. We'll go deeper into the forest tomorrow," she said.

At that moment, I knew I had no time left if I wanted them to see me, but before I could walk out in the open, my legs finally gave out, and I collapsed, and landed on my back. Everything was starting to blur and fade away. I could hear them leaving, and I only had one option left.

With the last bit of energy keeping me awake, I sent a large Thunderolt into the air, which created lots of noise, and a bright light, causing them to run in my direction, looking for the source.

As I blacked out, I could see them all rushing over me, and yelling orders.  
"Oh dear god! Hurry! Get the medical team!" the lady yelled. "His wounds are very serious!"

As they began to pick me up and carry me somewhere, I slowly passed out in the arms of one of the officers, and everything faded into a black abyss for one more time.

* * *

OKay, ONE MORE CHAPTER LEFT!!!!! 


	11. Epilogue: Reflection

Author's Note:  
Finally, Im done!! The final chapter is up!!  
To all my fans, I think you greatly for reading, and if you did like it, JOIN THE SITE IN MY BIO. There, you can talk more about my work, and get some spoilers and sneak peaks at future releases!

Anyway, enjoy this, and I do believe this chapter is a bit too lovey and corny...but I had to end it somehow...

-Raik the Raichu

* * *

Epilogue: Reflection

Yet again, the same thing happened. Another weird dark area with a small white light far from my reach. I figured that, this was it. I had probably died right there in the forest. Only 2 feet from help. What a crappy way to go.

I did remember very short bits of things, though, from when I passed out. I remembered lots of officers shouting commands at one another, I remembered hearing sirens, and I remembered hearing things about "serious blood loss" and "critical condition," but I didnt think much of it.

One thing learned though was that what people say about seeing your entire life flash before your eyes before you die, was right. Its not so much before you die, than it is when your dead that you actually get to see it, but I did get to see everything from my life.

Vivid pictures of the main points from my life where whirling around me, showing me all my memories, and some I had forgotten. But as I watched them, I realized that my life wasnt as great as I thought it was.

When I viewed the day I strayed off to live my life as a loner, I couldnt help but think about what it would have been like to have stayed with my brothers and sisters longer, made some friends, and maybe even gotten a mate.

Thinking about this made me think about everything I had given up. Friends, family...I had pretty much given up my whole life. And for what? To be secluded from everyone and everything that could have made me happy. At this point, now realizing I had wasted my whole life and I was now dead, tears were beginning to form in my eyes.

At that moment, the bright light, which I had ignored the whole time, expanded until, yet again, I awoke.

I quickly sat up, a few tears still in my eyes, and darted my head around rapidly. Everything was a whitish color, except for some bowls, objects, and a few machines, which I was hooked up to. I was sitting in a bed, with white sheets, and a large greenish gray curtain that circled the bed and machines. After a few minutes, I realized where I was.

_Im in...a hospital!_ I realized, my eyes widening with shock. At that point, I was instantly overcome with a huge rush of joy. I tried to leap off the bed, but the second I moved my body, a surge of pain shot through me, almost stunning me. Even though I should have just rested there, there was no way I was going to be sitting there all day, waiting for a nurse.

_Since when has a little pain ever stopped me so far?_

I slapped myself and tried again. I managed to crawl off the bed, and land on the floor, back first, creating a tremendous amount of pain to ripple in my body. Trying to ignore it, I stood up, and made my way out of the curtain surrounding the bed.

I stepped out, and looked around. The room wasnt too big, and only had another 2 beds in it, which were empty. Besides me, no one was in the room, and a dead silence haunted the area. Getting bored, I limped over to the door, and found it slightly open, making it easy to leave.

I poked my head out the door, and looked down both sides of the hall. In the hall, there was a cart or 2 with some medicine, and food on them, and one of wich was occupied by a nurse. Also, there was some really lame and quiet music playing throughout the halls, which soon began to piss me off.

"Oh my! What are you doing out of your bed?" said a quiet voice from behind. I shot my head around and saw a nurse, and another lady beside her. The nurse approached me rather quickly, picked me up, and brought me back into the room, and her friend followed.

After she examined me for a few minutes, she thought I was okay to be out of the bed, but she wouldn't let me walk, thinking it could damage something. Instead, I was forced to sit in her arms, as she held me, and talked to her friend.

"Wow...so what happened to this little guy?" her friend asked in a sad tone.  
"Oh, well, 2 days ago, they found him alone, and badly injured in the forest. He was running on his last bit of life, and they got him here just in time to get him patched up," she exclaimed, as she began petting me.  
"Oh, well its nice to see that he's doing better. But, what caused all those wounds?" the lady asked.  
"Well, if you look here," the nurse said, pointing to my left bandaged shoulder, "this is where the bullet wound from a high calibur rifle is, which caused a massive amount of blood loss. We were surprised he was alive, but we found the bullet still in his shoulder, blocking off the opening so it slowed the blood that was pouring out."

The lady nodded, and then looked over at my tail, and she then asked, "Oh my, whats that?"  
The nurse looked, and said, "Oh, that appeared to be a branding. We werent sure what it meant until yesterday. See, yesterday, the police kept folowing this little guys blood trail, and it led them to a grusome sight. Corpses. Three of them. Two human, and one was a little Pichu with a hole in him the size of a tennis ball. Its very sad."

The lady gasped, making a horrified face, and then asked, "What else did they find?"  
The nurse continued. "Well, as they kept going, they found a small cave, and decided to go in. Strangly, they found a door leading to a large underground facility, loaded with illegal activities and research on Pokemon. The facility was large, and full of abused and beaten Pokemon who were living in horrible conditions, and barey got to eat anything. Everyone in the facility was evacuated and arrested, and the Pokemon were immeadiatly brought to this Pokemon Center, which is why we have so little space for other injured Pokemon."

_Ha! I hope those jackholes get life in prison or the death penalty!_

"Oh my, thats awful!" said the lady. She looked at me, and gave a warming smile, as I stared at her blankly and tilted my head in a curious manner. She gave a laugh and then asked the nurse if she could hold me for a while. As she held me, she began talking about me.

"He's such a cute little thing! How could someone hurt anything this adorable? Poor thing must be traumatized..." she said, petting me.

_Traumatized? Probably not...even if I did witness death, injuries, and pain beyond all belief._

Just then, my stomach gave a loud roar of hunger, which everyone in the room heard. The nurse giggled and said, "Well, it looks like he's hungry!" She whistled, and waited a few seconds, and then a Chansey with a nurse's cap entered the room, carrying a bowl of what looked to be hot soup.

She put me on the floor, with the soup, as her and the nurse talked again. I was hungry as hell, and didnt even hesitate to start eating. About halfway through my meal, I realized the Chansey was still in the room, and was staring at me, with a somewhat astonished look on her face.

I lifted my head up, and asked, "Are you amazed by how Im eating, or by the ever popular wounds on my body?"  
She gave a faint laugh and said, "A bit of both really...what happened?"

I figured tht I wasnt going anywhere soon with the 2 girls chatting it up, so I told the Chansey of my little journey. When I was finished, she asked, "So, what happened to Mikka?"  
"I still dont know..." I answered unhappily.  
"Well, what kind of Pokemon was she?"  
"A Squirtle, why?" I asked.

"Well," she started, "Currently, we only have about maybe 3 Squirtles in the Center, and I know 2 are males, and that the third one was found by a rescue party." At that moment, I shot straight up, and asked, "What!? Where is the room?"  
"Oh, it's room 22, just down the hall and to the left," she answered back.

With that, I darted out of the room, and made my way down the hall, as I heard the nurse say, "Hey, wheres he going!?"

I ran all the way down the hall, scanning each room number as I went by. The room I was in was Room 3, so I was running around the confusing Center, obliviously looking for a room that was suppposidly down the hall. Apparently, "down the hall and to the right" must mean "around 10 corners, and 3 halls" in nurse code. Fianlly, I reached the door with the number 22 on it, and went inside.

The room resembled mine, in appearence and size. About 4 beds, some machines, and a table and 2 chairs. Just the ordinary hospital room. I saw only one bed occupied, and immeadiatly hopped up. In the bed lay a sleeping young blue turtle with a few scratches and cuts, and a branding.

_Mikka!_

There was movement, as she slowly started to wake. With her eyes half open, she looked at me for a few seconds, rubbed them, and then looked again. After realizing I was standing there, her eyes shot open, and she quietly said, "Raik...is that you?!"  
With a big smile, I said, "Hello Mikka."

In a matter of seconds, she lept up and was hugging me tightly, saying, "I thought he killed you back there! Im so glad youre alive!" I hugged back, saying, "Dont worry, Im fine. Just a few injuries..." As we hugged, I felt wet drops fall on my back, and I knew she was crying, and started to cry a bit too. I was the happiest I had felt in a long time.

Just as were still in our little soppy loving reunion, the nurse and her friend came rushing in, and saw us. The lady was starting to get all teary eyed too, and said, "Aww! Look! He's got a little girlfriend!" The nurse was just smiling.

Eventually, the nurse got the picture that we would like to be left alone, and shoved everyone else out. Once we were alone, we stopped hugging, and Mikka said, "I missed you! When I saw him shoot you, I thought you had died, and I ran off. I was found by a search team, and brought here yesterday. Im just so glad youre okay!" She began hugging me around my stomach. I just rubbed her head, and said, "I wasnt dead. I woke up later, and was found by some search team, and I just woke up a while ago. Some Chansey tole me you were here and I rushed over as quickly as I could. So you dont have to worry about me anymore, Im fine."

After I told her what happened, she still snuggled up against me, and told me how happy she was that we were alive. I figured it would be a good idea to tell her what else had happened at the facility. Once I did, she began laughing, and saying, "Good! They all need to be beaten senseless in prison!"

Finally, the nurse and her friend came back in, and the nurse said, "Okay, well, you still need rest. So, say bye to your friend, and I'll take you back to your room. The faster you heal, the faster we let you and your friend go back into the wild." With that, Mikka and I hugged one final time, and the nurse picked me up, and carried me to my room, where I was told to sleep. I did as instructed, and drifted off into an enjoyable, comforting sleep, which I hadnt had in quite some time.

After a few more days, I had healed rather well, and the nurse kept her word, and let me and Mikka go free into the forest outside of town. She took us out into the forest, and to a large hill with a view of the whole forest area around late afternoon, released us, and then dissappeared behind the large mass of trees.

As we sat on the hill and gazed at the apporaching sunset, Mikka looked at me and asked, "So, now what? We're free...but what should we do?"  
I gave a laugh, and said, "Im the last person to ask that. I was a loner my whole life, living off of whatever I could find. I never had any fun, or did anything...I just sat there and festered away."  
She faintly giggled, and rested her head on my shoulder, watching the sunset.

At this point, I was truely happier than I had ever been in my life. I had a great friend, and was free to live my life with her, without anymore problems. Noticing that she had fallen asleep on my shoulder, and the sun was finally masked by the dark starry sky lit only by the lumonous moon, I closed my eyes, and fell asleep, waiting to be awakened by my new tomorrow, with her.

* * *

Songs that go well with the Story: (Basically, its like a soundtrack)

1. "A Modern Myth" - 30 Seconds to Mars  
2. "Until the End" - Breaking Benjamin  
3. "Destruction is Incapable of Creation" - Behind Crimson Eyes  
4. "How to Save a Life" - The Fray  
5. "All That I've Got" - The Used  
6. "Breath" - Breaking Benjamin  
7. "Arms of Sorrow" - Killswitch Engage  
8. "A Place for My Head" - Linkin Park  
9. "Your Guardian Angel" - The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus  
10. "Easier to Run" - Linkin Park

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Okay, thats it. All done! XD

Anyway, remember to read my other stories...I dont wanna feel like I wrote them for nothing! Im considering another story, which is sounding pretty good at the moment, and Im hoping to maybe get some written soon.

So, thanx for reading, and Ill see you soon!

-Raik the Raichu


End file.
